Those Bernie Bros, Dontchaknow
When Obama won not one, but two elections, I don't recall Republicans rushing to point blame at the Tea Party or Libertarians or other conservative factions. Yet Democrats are still complaining about Ralph Nader (ya'll that was 17 years ago) while piling on more alienating, gas-lighting complaints about every left of center person who runs for President AND their voters. Complain all you want about candidates, but alienating voters is not a good strategy. It didn't help Gore win. It didn't help Kerry win. It didn't help Hillary win against the least qualified candidate in recent memory. It didn't help Democrats take over Congress. Maybe I was out of the loop, but I don't remember any "spoilers" or potential spoilers during 2008 and 2012. Most people don’t even remember the Green Party candidate who ran in 2008 and no one talked about Jill Stein in 2012. Perhaps because there was a Democratic candidate that knew how to mobilize voters who otherwise would sit home? What a revolutionary tactic. Every time I read a post or article blaming Bernie Sanders or a third party candidate (and especially, their voters) for Trump, I inch further toward never voting Democratic again. And I have been a registered Democrat who voted straight down the ballot Democratic at every election since I turned 18. I am no longer registered as a Democrat, and the possibility of voting for one again has gone down quite rapidly in the last year, thanks to the Democrat officials and many of their outspoken voters who are cool with party corruption because, you know, Russia (I guess?). Think whatever you want about me. This is a democracy and frankly, telling people that they can’t vote for anyone other than a corporate driven candidate for a corporate owned party is anti-democratic.
Be smug and blame me for election results and conservative policies as I vote for whoeverthehell I want. I’m cool with it. As are a shit ton of other former Democrats who have been pushed out of the party. And regardless of whether we hold some blame or not, at the end of the day, YOU are the person who wants more Democratic votes.
You can continue to gas-light people for their vote in a previous election, demand anyone who isn’t center/center-right to just fall in line, and post on social media about how Ralph Nader, a person who has literally saved millions of lives, somehow ruined the world in November 2000. Or you can look at yourself and your party, owning what you did and didn’t do, and taking real action to mobilize voters. The former has been working out well for you, no?
